I want to ride my bicycle... or do I?

There are nine million bicycles in Bergen....

Or was it Beijing? At least it feels like that in Bergen right now! "Everybody" is preparing for the Bergen - Voss race, and they are all so fast...

I cannot make up my mind about whether or not I like biking as a training form. I remember when reading Haruki Murakami's book about running how much I agreed with him about the drawbacks of biking: your speed does not depend only on your strength and endurance, like in running. It depends on so many other things, like having a good and light bike, not being afraid of speed, whether you are good in maneuvering around all sorts of obstacles like people, kids, animals, and vehicles on your way... and the 9 million other bikers...

After experimenting a bit with triathlon, I was quite demotivated by the slowness of my heavy hybrid bike. So in winter Frank and I bought racing bikes. And the difference is indeed amazing. But it took me some time to get to the point where I could actually experience the difference. First I had to get past the obstacle of click pedals...

I knew that I would struggle with biking when the feet are locked to the pedals. I had tried this once a couple of years ago, fallen badly, and given it up. But now there was no way around it. During the winter, I put my bike on a stationary roller, and used it for restitution as often as I could. At the same time, I clicked my shoes on and off the pedals a million times to let it become natural. When the spring came, though, and we went for our first biking session outdoors, things did not work as easily as I hoped for. Just at the parking lot, before we even started, I fell twice trying to mount on the bike, and Frank and I were both wondering whether we would at all be biking that day. The thing is, unfortunately, it takes some falling before the brain realizes that it should very quickly unlock the correct foot before trying to set it on the ground. There is no help in soundly standing still with one foot on the ground, if you suddenly want to put also the other foot on the ground forgetting that it is still locked to the pedal. 

Of course things depend on earlier experiences. Although I could bike as a kid, it was never a natural part of my daily life. Growing up in a big city, we would take the bikes with us to a park and bike there. In contrast, Frank was biking daily as a kid, even participating in some small competitions. Even though I have biked more than him as an adult, his balance and confidence that comes from childhood is incomparable to mine. For him lock pedals were not a problem at all. After a couple of biking sessions, I was still feeling pretty insecure, and started to discuss whether I should go for another brand of lock pedals that some said were easier to click in and out of.  I discussed the matter with Knut Bøe, the legendary biker who now owns the bike shop we bought our bikes from (in fact I've discussed so many things with Knut, and we have been in the shop for advice and help so many times; he is an extremely inspiring and motivating person!), and concluded that I simply needed more practice.

 

So here I am now. Lock pedals are working fine; it has become natural to click in and out of them without thinking. Back/shoulder/butt aches from long rides are getting less and less painful, and more bearable. I still don't have the level of balance I would have liked. For example, slowing down during a race to get a bottle of drink offered and actually drinking and eating while riding still seem like distant dreams. But  as long as I have things to work on and improve,  I am somewhat motivated.

The problem is... I simply don't enjoy it that much. Oh, so there I've said it. Biking works perfect as recreation and restitution. But it is a pretty inefficient way of training to improve form. You need so many more hours than for running, you need free passage, empty roads, no people, no cars, and most importantly no other bikers. At least I do. I am so cautious that I slow down for people, cars, and especially unpredictable obstacles like kids and animals. But most other (faster) bikers don't. So there I am, slowing down in wait of an opening, and suddenly comes a fast biker and passes me and takes my opening before my path is again clogged with people. I know many of my friends won't like me saying this, but what I find among the biggest obstacles in improving my biking skills and increasing my enjoyment, are some of the fastest bikers out there.

Early Sunday mornings work fine. Before everybody else is out. Say from 8-11, you can get a lot of km done in peace and quiet, with as much speed as you dare. But here is only one Sunday a week... And I seem to be mostly motivated for this kind of commitment when I have an injury or pain that prevents me from running.

Oh well, we'll all see how it goes. It took me years to start enjoying running, so perhaps time is all that it takes. Once (if ever!) I have better balance and speed, and can join the group rides of Fjellgeitene, I am sure it can become much more fun.

And I am going to their after-party of the Bergen-Voss race!! :-D

Negative split at last! (Bergen City Halfmarathon)

Listen to your heart.... 

Yes, you know that all my training is about keeping the right heart rate these days, and little by little, it is giving more and more results. Just a quick recap of the recommendations (first from Mats and Christian, and then from Dag): all training happens either at zone 1 or at threshold heart rate, even the intervals. If anything happens in between, then it is progressive training where I start from zone 1 and work my way up to threshold HR, increasing speed at regular intervals. Already before the mentioned recommendations, I had started to not exceed the threshold heart rate, following the blog of Ingrid Kristiansen, but I was not good with zone 1 runs then. Now I have a lot of zone 1 in my training, not always by running but also by mountain hiking, swimming or biking. 

OK so what are the results? Not that they are very impressive (yet!) but still motivating: 10k PB in January, PB in the Fløyenkarusellen uphill race in February, my second best half marathon time ever in March, and PB of the Bergen City half marathon course two days ago. The improvements are small, mind you, but set into the following perspective, they are really uplifting: injury and no running in the whole of 2015, and falling behind of most my previous records during 2016. I am still VERY happy with 2016, as it gave me so many new experiences with a whole bunch of running buddies in Istanbul plus the euphoria of completing a marathon decently. But in 2017, I am finally catching up with myself of 2014! :-)

I won't bore you with the details of the race on Saturday, but I have some observations that I found interesting and that you might find helpful in your training. After the fitness test in March, Dag told me to start a long race well below threshold heart rate. On the other hand my threshold HR had fallen down to my zone 3, so I knew that there was no way to get a good half marathon time that way. So, three weeks ago I participated in a local, low profile half marathon just to test what I could do. I was not at all well rested for this race, but I managed to keep the pace I had decided beforehand very evenly until the end. The interesting part is that I was already at threshold HR from start, and after half way, although my speed was the same, my HR increased by about 10 beats. It was great to experience that I could go with much higher HR than I was told, and this helped me a lot during the Bergen City half marathon. For the first time ever in a race, I finally achieved negative split! My average pace was 10 seconds faster per km in the second half of the race compared to the first half.

I think the best way to become better at half marathon is to race more half marathons. In 2014, although I was faster in a sense, I did not at all have the same endurance as now. At that time, participating in a low profile half marathon that goes inside a forest was something I would not be able to motivate myself for. But now I can just join a race whenever I feel for it, without particular preparations, and this was actually my goal all the way from the start. When you race more, you get to know your body and your heart better, and you get to test how much you can push and when. My experience is that every half marathon feels easier than the previous, in fact quite pleasant. To keep the motivation throughout a race, I have acquired quite a few tricks which work really well for me:

Music. I just started with this recently, during the preparations for Amsterdam marathon. It was not easy to keep the motivation and the spirits high during the last long training runs, and I discovered how much better I felt when listening to music. My music list is very embarrassing, containing a crazy blend of old and new, oriental and pop songs, a complete mix of genres, but all fast and very rhythmic. Pick whatever works for you and try it out, especially if you have problems with motivation or losing speed during a long race.

Positive feedback. I find giving positive feedback to others during a race extremely rewarding. You get even more positive response back, and I always feel a rush of energy and increase of speed after such incidents. It is of course best if this comes naturally, but if not, perhaps you can even fake it until to you make it. ;-) I get very emotional during races, and whenever I see something or someone that moves me, I give a cheer, a clap, a thumb up, etc. This time, first it was the lady who was running inside a huge logo of the main sponsor of the race. I had read about her in the newspaper, but when I saw her at about the second km, I was surprised by how huge and impossible to run in her costume was. I clapped, cheered and gave her a thump up, and her response was invaluable! I repeated this whenever I felt for it: racers in wheelchairs, racers with strollers, slower marathoners who were still in their second round, ... Their response was so rewarding, and I immediately felt the increase in my speed. I was also fortunate to have many friends along the course who cheered me, Melkesyre with their kettle bells at the worst hill as always, Stian the world champ who ran with me along Fjellveien, Kari and Caroline who showed up surprisingly at unexpected places, and then the Melkesyre gang just 200 m before finish again. It helps, and it also proves that it's all in the head.

Nutrition. I always stop at every drink station. Whenever I did not do this it got back at me, so now I never skip one even if I feel good to go. About 200 m before a station I take a gel, and then I take two cups of water which also help clear my mouth and clean my sticky hands. Although one looses about 10-15 seconds by this (stopping means slowing down or walking), I think it pays off as better pace during the next few kilometers. At least for myself, I always feel a surge of energy and increased motivation after this. It is also a nice rewarding scheme; whatever the distance you are running, you can concentrate on the next drink station, promising yourself a short rest when you reach that point. It makes it easier to push when you have milestones.

Not exactly advice from an expert, but sometimes experiences of a peer might be more valuable than expert or elite advice. Last but not least: If you're struggling, don't forget that going easier on training might turn frustration into fun and improvement.